Goalie Tomas Vokoun Is Seen As ... The Stabilizer

October 3, 2007|By Steve Gorten Staff Writer

Jacques Martin has never publicly said, and probably never will, that trading Roberto Luongo was a mistake, despite how it shook the Panthers' organization.

Martin ultimately gave his approval of the trade to then-General Manager Mike Keenan not because he wanted to - Luongo was the reason Martin chose to coach the Panthers instead of the Coyotes - but because he felt he had no other choice after contract negotiations with the star goalie grew too contentious.

So Martin, the coach, made do with Alex Auld and Ed Belfour in goal. In June, Martin, the general manager, made a major move to stabilize that position and this franchise: He traded three draft picks to the Nashville Predators for goalie Tomas Vokoun.

"We felt it was a need we had to address," Martin explained. "When we lost Luongo, we got a goaltender in return, and as a short-term formula last year Eddie played well in the second half. At his age [42], he probably could have given us another year, but it would have been an issue I would have to deal with again at the end of this year. When the opportunity presented itself, I felt we didn't have to give anything from our hockey team, and I really believe you start building with goaltending."

Team captain Olli Jokinen agreed.

"If I was a GM, that's where I'd start building a team. Get a goalie. It's the most important position in hockey, knowing there's going to be a goalie who's going to steal you some games," Jokinen said.

For five seasons, the Panthers had that in Luongo. But they had no stability around him, one reason he repeatedly said he was hesitant to re-sign and a big reason they missed the playoffs every year he was here. The Panthers' current streak of six seasons without a playoff appearance is tied for longest in the NHL.

So Martin didn't just trade for a goalie widely considered one of the top seven in the league. He brought one in who's under contract for another four years.

The result is a roster worth more than $42 million - Martin credits majority owner Alan Cohen for the near $12 million increase from last season - that features just one holdover (Stumpel) from the players Keenan signed during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Stumpel, 35, is the oldest player on this season's roster. The Panthers started last season with three players over 40. They also started with a first-time GM (Martin), who now has a year of experience as both coach and GM, and has an assistant (Randy Sexton) to help him.

"There's not going to be any battles between the GM and coach. At least there shouldn't be," Jokinen said, laughing. "It's good because if you keep the same guys here long enough and the management, I believe the program we have here is really going to work. ... If you change the GM and coach every year, the plan is going to change. The GM is going to bring his own people, different coach, different trainers, different people in the office. And we've been going through that almost every second year.

"The franchise is really in a stable position now," Jokinen continued. "If you look at past years, there were a lot of question marks. It doesn't happen overnight. I think we've been going in the right direction. And it shows. We've been signing our own guys that have been drafted here to long-term deals. That way, we know this is going to be the team. Now it's pretty much up to us [players]."

With Jokinen, Horton, Weiss, Vokoun and Mike Van Ryn locked up for several years, the Panthers are following the model of the Predators, although Nashville has now started to struggle with an unstable ownership situation, Vokoun said.

"[Stability] is important. Most people don't like uncertainty," said Vokoun, who was selected by the Predators in the 1998 expansion draft. "When you feel that uncertainty, it takes away from your game. That was one of the real pluses of Nashville. The owner was really patient. He kept the coach and GM in a time when somebody else would try somebody different.

"Here, they're definitely showing signs of commitment to a long-term plan. They're not just saying, 'Well, we'll worry about this year and we don't know what's going to be after that.' "

Martin was criticized for not advancing deep enough into the playoffs in eight-plus seasons as the Ottawa Senators' coach, but his patience in building that team equally was lauded.

The acquisition of Vokoun, a former All-Star and Vezina Trophy finalist, was Martin's first major move as general manager.